When Greenbrier mom P.J. Jones started working to get the Robertson County Courthouse to turn blue this April for Autism Awareness Month, she never dreamed the effort would spread to include schools and local businesses.

About two years ago, Jones began buying blue porch lights in support of her son Charlie, 8, who has severe autism spectrum disorder. Through social media, she urged friends to "light it up blue for autism."

The response was immediate.

"During that first year, my page was lit up blue like a K-Mart special," Jones said. "The next year, they did it again, so I wanted to make a thank-you video to show them how much it meant to us."

Jones reached out to a web designer friend and built a website, TeamCharlieBear.com. As she began compiling images to put in the thank-you video, friends told her that the Robertson County Courthouse had gone blue for autism awareness by placing pinwheels on the front lawn.

"I took pictures of it, put it in the video and thanked them for going blue for autism," she said. "I found out later that it wasn't for autism. It was for Child Abuse Prevention Month. So I sent the mayor the video, said it had gone quite viral, and told him that I had thanked him for something he didn't do. I told him I would like to rectify it by thanking him for something he did do."

Jones, a Springfield High School graduate, had been a student in Robertson County Mayor Howard Bradley's class during her senior year, she said. During their conversation, Bradley agreed to sign a proclamation and to have the courthouse go blue in support of the disorder.

"Traditionally, we've always had April as Child Abuse Awareness month," Bradley said. "Now it will have to share the spotlight, as it should."

The lights for the courthouse were donated by a local business in response to a plea for help issued by Jones through social media, she said. Within an hour of the post, Torino's Greek and Italian Restaurant sent a message saying they too would like to be involved, Jones said.

Sakie Kouzouglidis, whose family has owned Torino's for nearly 29 years, said the restaurant will feature blue exterior lighting and that all staff members will dress in blue during April.

"Until it hits someone you know, you really don't know about autism," he said. "Then you read about how much it affects the parents. These children have a different way of learning and expressing themselves and that requires patience and understanding from the people around them."

Kouzouglidis and Jones attended school together and have known each other for about 25 years, he said. In addition to Charlie, Kouzouglidis says he knows three other children with the disorder.

On April 2, Torino's will donate 10 percent of its proceeds to the Springfield Pediatric Therapy Center, which offers autism treatment, Kouzouglidis said.

To date, 10 other businesses and organizations have joined Torino's with pledges to go blue including two local schools, Greenbrier Elementary and Springfield High School. On April 1, Jones will return to her alma mater to speak to students about autism and how it has impacted her, Charlie and daughter Abigail, 9.

"In our schools, we help children who have autism on different levels," Robertson County Director of Schools Mike Davis said. "Anytime we can bring awareness to a condition like this, that's a good thing."

Charlie was nearly 3-years-old when he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, his mother said.

"I started to worry when he was nine months old because he developed a strange, repetitive motor skill with his arm and he was missing milestones," she said. "But everyone kept assuring me that nothing was wrong. He was fine. By the time everyone got on board with me that something was wrong, I was no longer on board."

In the years that followed, everything seemed to fall apart, Jones said. She lost her home and her job and her first marriage ended. Charlie was 5-years-old when he started getting the help he needed for the disorder. The wake-up call for Jones, she said, was when her now fiancé, William Smith, asked her what autism was when they first began dating and she couldn't define it.

"I remember saying if I had a child with autism I would probably look to find as much information on it as I could," Smith said. "And she took it from there, got her head out of the sand and started this mission."

Today, Charlie attends 11 hours of outside, after-school therapies a week, split between Brentwood and Springfield. He is classified as an emerging communicator, a status that is upgraded from his original diagnosis of non-verbal. For Jones, the milestones he reaches are a huge deal. She remembers the exact date she heard her son tell her he loved her. He was six years old. With continued therapy, he will continue to improve, she said. One day, she hopes he will be able to work in a zoo because of his passion for animals.

By lighting Robertson County up blue, Jones says she not only hopes to educate people and grow the effort each year, but she hopes to reach others like her.

"I just felt so alone," she said. "It's an isolating disorder. You end up in your safe little bubble where he's comfortable. I have fought war after war to get (Charlie) to where I am and I am tired. It has taken years off my life to get here. And I know I'm not the only one who's been through it.

"I just want those other people who are at home, in the bubble, and all they have is a TV or an iPad to feel love, feel light, know someone's there, know they know you're there because when I did, it made all the difference in the world."

If you go

Courthouse lighting ceremony

When:

Tuesday, April 1. Event begins at 6 p.m., ceremony begins at 7 p.m.

Where:

On the historic Springfield Square

What:

Vendors, music and the lighting ceremony.

Businesses, organizations 'going blue' in April

Payne Chevrolet

Cunningham Motors

Springfield High School

Greenbrier Elementary

Torino's

Eckles Office Supplies

Valvoline Instant Oil Change

The old WSGI building

Greenbrier Kids Connection

The United Way of Robertson County

Robertson County Courthouse

About Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorder is defined as a group of developmental brain disorders.

The term spectrum refers to the wide range of symptoms and disability that children can have with the disorder. Some children are considered mildly impaired while others are considered severely impaired.

Symptoms of autism vary from child to child, but they usually fall into three general categories: social impairment, communication difficulties and repetitive and stereotyped behaviors.

In a 2008 study on the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder, researchers found that one in 88 children in the United States is diagnosed and boys are five times more likely to be affected than girls. The numbers show that one in 54 boys will be diagnosed while one in 252 girls will be diagnosed.

Sources: The National Institute of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention